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ECFR Members convene in Madrid for the 6th Meeting of the ECFR Council

"Building a new Europe for a multi-polar world" was the theme of the 6th Annual Meeting of the ECFR Council; an expansive topic that allowed for a timely re-assessment of the EU's role within a new world order.

The meeting took place on the 6 and 7 November in Madrid, the seat of the upcoming EU Presidency, and was a confirmation of how far ECFR has come in the two years since it began. The Council Meeting was dominated by a discussion on foreign policy in the post-Lisbon Europe, 20 years after what ECFR Member Timothy Garton Ash labeled ‘the greatest year in European history'. Complementary to this broader discussion, the meeting also allowed for lively debates amonge ECFR's Council Members and resident experts on a selection of specific initiatives. The event's highlights included a masterclass on the prospective European diplomatic service with ECFR Member Robert Cooper, a discussion on the Spanish EU presidency's priorities with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos, and a political exchange between ECFR Member Emma Bonino and former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González on what Europe will look like in 2020.